Permanent Midnight (1998)

A recovering drug addict (Ben Stiller) hooks up with another recovering drug addict (Maria Bello) and in between sex, he tells her about his double life as a top Hollywood TV writer while descending to the depths of drug abuse from pills to crack. Based on the autobiographical book by Jerry Stahl (who wrote shows like MOONLIGHTING and THIRTYSOMETHING), the film has an authoritative feel to it from someone who's really lived it. Just one example: in typical L.A. fashion, Stiller's character only eats healthy organic foods and runs five miles a day to keep his body fit, all the while shooting junk into his arm. One could laugh at the irony if it weren't so hideously true. Directed (his only film as a director to date) and written by David Veloz (who co-wrote NATURAL BORN KILLERS), his script is better than his direction which is flat. Stiller in a rare dramatic role is quite good though perhaps more effective in the recovering aspects of his character than the full on druggie which he tends to overplay. The story is compelling enough to have deserved a better movie but there are enough good moments to justify its existence. The large cast includes Owen Wilson, Sandra Oh, Elizabeth Hurley, Fred Willard, Cheryl Ladd, Janeane Garofalo, Connie Nielsen, Lainie Kazan (whose role as Stiller's mother seems to have been severely cut) and Andy Dick.

Gunman's Walk (1958)

A cattle rancher (Van Heflin) indulges his older son (Tab Hunter) with a sense of entitlement which allows him to be arrogant and set himself above the law. When the son is brought to trial for manslaughter, the rancher will stop at nothing to protect his son including paying off a "witness". But the son's contempt for his father holds no bounds and eventually the father must come to terms with his responsibility in the creation of this "bad seed". Directed by Phil Karlson (HELL TO ETERNITY), this is only nominally a western. The film is really about a parent who places no limits on his children and fails to realize that he's created a carbon copy of himself. There's a younger son (James Darren) who is in direct contrast to the older son but, of course, not as favored as the older son because he is less like his father. It may be Hunter's best screen performance but it's Heflin who commands the screen, a man out of time who finds out too late to rectify his mistakes. Strong directed by Karlson, this is a solid western robustly shot in CinemaScope by Charles Lawton (3:10 TO YUMA) with a nicely restrained score by George Duning (PICNIC). With Kathryn Grant as the love interest, Mickey Shaughnessy, Robert F. Simon, Edward Platt, Ray Teal and Dorothy Adams.

The Omen (1976)

When their child dies at birth in a Rome hospital, an American diplomat (Gregory Peck) agrees to substitute another baby without telling his wife (Lee Remick). But five years later, when he is given the position of U.S. ambassador to Great Britain, strange and disturbing things begin to happen: a nanny's (Holly Palance) public suicide at a children's party, the child's hysteria when they attempt to take him to church, zoo animals freak out at the child's presence and then there's the weird new nanny (Billie Whitelaw). Could it be ..... Satan? This well crafted piece of pulp horror was a monster hit in 1976 and spawned two inferior sequels but it remains as creepily effective as ever. What could have come off as ridiculous and laughable benefits from the gravitas of Peck and Remick in the leads, who both bring a dignified presence and solid talent that is able to make the incredible credible. Richard Donner directs with a secure touch while Jerry Goldsmith's Oscar winning score provides a chilling atmosphere. With David Warner, Leo McKern, Patrick Troughton and Martin Benson.

La Femme D'a Cote (aka The Woman Next Door) (1981)

When a new couple move in next door in their small town in the country, a husband (Gerard Depardieu) discovers the woman (Fanny Ardant) is his ex-lover from eight years ago. It was an unhealthy relationship that they were well rid of ... but it seems fate isn't through with them yet. Love makes you crazy. For some people, it's toxic. There are some people who don't understand this and the behavior it generates. God bless 'em in their ignorant bliss, they usually laugh at or are exasperated by characters like this. Francois Truffaut's next to last film turns its eye toward two people who should never have been together but their passion, like a cancer, metastasizes until it's fatal. It's not an easy film to watch, their behavior often makes no sense and their self destructive behavior affects not only them but those around them like their respective spouses (Henri Garcin, Michele Baumgartner) who deserve better. Truffaut has shown an interest in noir having filmed two Cornell Woolrich stories and a novel by David Goodis but surprisingly this film is closer to the noir perspective than those films. Ardant's femme fatale is much more complex than the simplistic fatales of pulp fiction. She's ambiguous and we're never quite certain how much of her is sincere and how much is manipulation. With Veronique Silver as a victim of love's insanity, 20 years ago she jumped out of a window in an attempt to kill herself when her lover married someone else but survived and has a crippled leg to remind her of love's malicious hand.

The Little Princess (1939)

In 1899 Victorian England, a soldier (Ian Hunter) from a distinguished family is called to South Africa during the second Boer War. He places his daughter (Shirley Temple), who has been raised in India, at an exclusive boarding school for girls. But when he is reported killed in action and his diamond mine holdings taken over by the Afrikaans, the mean spirited headmistress (Mary Nash, THE PHILADELPHA STORY) sticks her in the attic and makes her work off her debt. Based on the popular novel by Frances Hodgson Burnett, this is young Shirley Temple's (who passed away this week) best movie. Shot in handsome three strip Technicolor with solid production values, the film has a decent script and requires Temple to give a performance (her character has some layers) rather than trading in on her "adorable" persona which made her one of the top box office attractions of her day. I have to confess I was never a fan of the popular child actress but I'm quite fond of this film. The film stops cold with a fantasy dream sequence featuring ballet which doesn't move the story forward but other than a delightful rendition of Old Kent Road sung and danced by Temple and Arthur Treacher, it's not a musical. Directed by Walter Lang and remade in 1995 by Alfonso Cuaron (GRAVITY). With Cesar Romero, Richard Greene, Anita Louise, Sybil Jason. Eily Malyon and Beryl Mercer as Queen Victoria.

Cairo (1942)

Due to a misunderstanding, a reporter (Robert Young) and a movie actress (Jeanette MacDonald) in Egypt each think the other is a Nazi spy. So they do what any spy would do ... they spy on each other! I suppose a spy spoof with songs in the middle of WWII while American soldiers were fighting overseas didn't sit well with American audiences so this film was a flop. It looks a lot better some sixty years later. While her trilling is still hard to take, MacDonald is very glamorous and relaxed and gets a chance to mock herself. When asked if she's ever been to San Francisco, she retorts, "Once. With Tracy and Gable" and her ability to hit a high C is prominent in foiling the Nazi's plans. There is one uncomfortable moment when MacDonald sings "colored" and shuffles and sings dat instead of that! On the other hand, Ethel Waters plays MacDonald's maid but she's allowed grace and dignity (she's more of a companion than a servant) rather than the usual black maid stereotype. The dull musical numbers (except for Waters belting Buds Won't Bud) aside, it was a pleasant diversion. Directed by W.S. Van Dyke (billed as Major W.S. Van Dyke here). With Lionel Atwill, Reginald Owen, Dooley Wilson (CASABLANCA), Eduardo Ciannelli, Mona Barrie and Rhys Williams.

Niagara (1953)

A young married couple (Jean Peters, Max Showalter) arrive on the Canadian side of Niagara Falls for a delayed honeymoon that he hopes to combine with a business trip. At their cabin, they meet an emotionally disturbed man (Joseph Cotten) and his sexy young wife (Marilyn Monroe) and become involved in a murder plot that backfires. 1953 was Monroe's breakthrough year (her other films for the year were GENTLEMEN PREFER BLONDES and HOW TO MARRY A MILLIONAIRE) after toiling in small supporting roles since the late 1940s. Shot in vivid three strip Technicolor, she's at her most erotically sensual here, you can see why she'd drive Cotten crazy with jealousy. Squeezed into the tightest of dresses, she moves like a jello mold on a shaky table. She's the reason to watch this color noir and the film never recovers after she disappears from the story. Poor Jean Peters, normally a lovely presence in her own right, she's aced by the competition. Directed by veteran Henry Hathaway (KISS OF DEATH). With Lurene Tuttle, Richard Allan, Dennis O'Dea, Harry Carey Jr., Henry Beckman and Russell Collins.

I've Got Your Number (1934)

A cheeky telephone repairman (Pat O'Brien) falls for a telephone operator (Joan Blondell) at a hotel. But when she gets fired for inadvertently helping a crook (Gordon Westcott) scam a hotel guest, she's fired. He helps get her a new job but Westcott devises a plan for duping her again and absconding with $90,000 in bonds from her new employer. One wouldn't think a movie about the phone company with a telephone repairman as a hero would have much to offer but this pre-code piece of trifle is fast and entertaining. For a pre-code, it's not very racy except for a sequence where O'Brien and his co-worker (Allen Jenkins) fix the phone for some call girls. But the dialogue is snappy, full of wisecracks and clever comebacks and it's over fairly quickly. Directed by Ray Enright (THE SPOILERS). With Glenda Farrell, Eugene Pallette and Louise Beavers, for once not playing a maid but a con woman in a psychic scam.

Man Of A Thousand Faces (1957)

A vaudeville performer (James Cagney) is told by his singer wife (Dorothy Malone) that she is going to have a baby. But when she meets his deaf mute parents (Celia Lovsky, Nolan Leary) for the first time, she becomes hysterical that their baby will be born a deaf mute. After the child is born (he is "normal"), the marriage crumbles and she attempts suicide on stage during his performance. The ensuing scandal sends him to Hollywood and the movies where he eventually becomes a major star. Directed by Joseph Pevney, this largely fictionalized film biography of the legendary Lon Chaney is enjoyable enough but it comes with all the usual melodramatic cliches of the genre. The film plays fast and loose with the facts: just two examples, after he divorced his first wife, Chaney never saw her again yet the film has them meeting after he has become a big star and rather than dying at a hospital, the movie has him dying in bed at home, etc. It doesn't help that the 57 year old Cagney was already 10 years old than Chaney when he died. As good an actor as he was, Cagney didn't have a thousand faces ... maybe 4 or 5 but indisputably Cagney. As an actor, he simply doesn't have the ability to transform himself like Chaney did and even here, he seems to want to remind us that he is Cagney. After performing a dramatic scene as Chaney in THE MIRACLE MAN, he does a soft shoe tap a la Cagney. Malone as the unsympathetic neurotic first wife is quite good as she is able to lend some empathy to the character. With Jane Greer as Chaney's second wife, Jim Backus, Marjorie Rambeau, Jack Albertson, Jeanne Cagney, William Hudson, Robert Evans as Irving Thalberg and Roger Smith as Lon Chaney Jr.

The April Fools (1969)

After receiving a promotion, an unhappily married executive (Jack Lemmon) is invited to his boss's (Peter Lawford) luxury apartment for a cocktail party. He leaves the party with a beautiful French blonde (Catherine Deneuve) to go for a drink but they end up spending the night together and falling in love. What he doesn't know is that she's the boss's wife. Directed by Stuart Rosenberg (COOL HAND LUKE), this is one of the best movie romances of the 1960s. The first part of the film is almost magical especially a sequence where the two meet up with an eccentric long married couple (Charles Boyer, Myrna Loy) who live in a spectacular mansion. The second half of the film gets a bit silly especially an interminable sequence featuring Lemmon with two drunk companions (Jack Weston, Harvey Korman). Lemmon and Deneuve are very sweet together and if their chemistry doesn't quite sizzle, its more realistic than fireworks. The film's score is by Marvin Hamlisch but it's Burt Bacharach's music that highlight the film. In addition to the lovely title song sung by Dionne Warwick, one of the film's funniest moments features Bacharach's I Say A Little Prayer sung by Susan Barrett at the cocktail party. The cast includes Sally Kellerman, Melinda Dillon, Kenneth Mars and David Doyle.

The Man Between (1953)

When an English girl (Claire Bloom) arrives in post war Berlin to visit her brother (Geoffrey Toone), she notices something strange going on involving her German sister in law (Hildegard Knef) and a mysterious man (James Mason) from the Eastern sector of Berlin. Her suspicions are just the beginning of her involvement in the rancorous politics of East and West Berlin. While not on the level of his masterful THE THIRD MAN, director Carol Reed does for post war Berlin what he did for post war Vienna in his 1949 classic. The first portion of the film is a mystery while the second half is a thriller that takes us through a nightmare vision of East Berlin as our protagonists attempt to make their way across to the western sector. Mason's been down this road before with Reed in ODD MAN OUT, just substitute Ireland for Germany and you get an idea of what THE MAN BETWEEN is. Mason's German accent wavers, Bloom is lovely but it's Hildegard Knef whose presence lends some authenticity to the proceedings. In her performance, you get a genuine feeling of East/West tensions immediately following the war. The excellent score is by John Addison (TOM JONES) and the effective cinematography courtesy of Desmond Dickinson (there's a marvelous shot of a snow covered auto with eyes made by windshield wipers moving like a dreadful monster down a street). With Ernst Schroder and Aribert Wascher.

Love At First Bite (1979)

When Count Dracula (George Hamilton) is expelled from Transylvania by the current Marxist regime, he and his servant Renfield (Arte Johnson) head for New York where he hopes to meet the top fashion model (Susan Saint James) he has fantasized about for years. This loopy comedic parody of the Dracula movies was a surprise hit in 1979. While its humor is slapdash hit and miss, it remains surprisingly funny 30 something years later though its ethnic humor is a bit dicey. Like Leslie Nielsen in AIRPLANE and NAKED GUN movies, the previously bland but eternally tanned George Hamilton reinvented himself as a comic actor and showed a talent for self parody. The film is basically an extended skit but it manages to sustain itself for the majority of the film but shows signs of exhaustion toward the end. Three supporting turns by expert farceurs keep the film from being The George Hamilton Show. Johnson, Dick Shawn and especially Richard Benjamin whose turn as Van Helsing's psychiatrist grandson is priceless. The film seemed to cry out for a sequel which never materialized which is perhaps just as well. Hamilton followed this up with a Zorro parody which which was nowhere near successful. Directed by Stan Dragoti. With Isabel Sanford, Sherman Hemsley, Barry Gordon and Susan Tolsky.